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Viking XX-Solar Race Vehicle-Western Washington University 901510

Viking XX is an advanced composite, monocoque chassis, two person solar powered vehicle, that was fabricated with a quasi-isotropic base laminate with selective directional reinforcements. The structure is a combination of flat, flat wrapped structure and compound curved panels made from Kevlar and graphite.

The energy that is produced by the solar array is stored in a silver-zinc battery, which in turn powers a brushless, rare-earth, permanent magnet, d.c. motor that is located on the main drive wheel in the center of the drivers' pod. Two wheels mounted in the battery pod counter steer one another so that the car has a very tight turning radius.

The terrestial grade solar cells were encapsulated in a Tefzel (a fluoropolymer filler), EVA encapsulant, silicon cell, EVA/-fiberglass scrim, Tedlar sandwich which gives durability, increased cooling and an improvement in power due to the lower refraction provided by the cover material. Once encapsulated, the cells were adhered to a fiberglass/foam sandwich substrate through a foam sandwich spacer intended to allow air movement for cell cooling and to prevent shorting through to the graphite structure.